Low Cost Urban Watershed Monitoring Network
Water sampling and monitoring can be time intensive and expensive. Most of Florida’s urban waters are impaired for nutrients, low dissolved oxygen, and/or pathogens. Monitoring the spatial and temporal dynamics in water bodies has typically be limited to grab sampling that may not meaningfully capture the dynamic nature of discharges and pollutants. While logging sensors can detect a variety of parameters at high frequency, they are generally cost prohibitive for capturing spatial variability. Growing availability of low-cost, open-source micro controller platforms, such as Arduino, and recent development of similarly low-cost environmental sensors have reduced the cost of collecting high frequency water quality data distributed over significant spatial scales. Incorporating transceivers with these platforms offers the potential for real-time monitoring and the possibility for incorporating controls for more effective stormwater management. We are currently in the platform development process.